04.27
A bit late on the draw, aren’t I? It’s been over a week since everybody’s favorite weekend transpired, so I’ll keep it to the point (also in part because of Misha’s great review which summed things up nicely). Just a few words and some Youtube videos.
Sunday Night Fever
As fun as Friday and Saturday were, neither held a candle to Sunday’s impressive display of music. Spoon and Phoenix were both great fun; intelligent indie dance rock at its finest and most upbeat. The crown jewel, however, was the triumvirate of Orbital, Plastikman and Gorillaz. The brothers Hartnoll left the CDJs at home in favor of a “traditional” live set using synth racks and drum machines. They rattled off classic after classic (“Halcon”, “Satan”, and “Impact” were my favorites) and proved that their old school rave sound has withstood the test of time and can still make people get down to boot. Continuing the old school vibe was Richie Hawtin performing as Plastikman, whose LED cage was something to behold. This was easily my favorite Coachella performance. Bolstered by the loudest bass I’ve ever heard, Richie’s minimalistic beats, partnered with amazing synchronized visuals, made for an exceptionally organic and alive show. It was passionate, emotional, groovy, and, fortunately for the Hawtin’s biggest fans, devoid of the throngs of candy kids and nu ravers who clogged the grass of the Sahara tent the previous two nights. He really set the bar that night, and everybody in attendance was very lucky to have witnessed that show. Rounding out the night (and the festival) on a pitch perfect note were the Gorillaz, whose performance was stripped down due to that pesky volcano, but still played great song after great song. The high point: singing along to “Clint Eastwood” with the tens of thousands of festival goers desperate to squeeze every last drop of song and dance from a stellar weekend. Those three shows together were worth the price of admission.
Musestock?
I’m not much for the modern rock scene, but shit…Muse can rock! Who else felt transported back to Woodstock in the 60′s when they shredded the Star Spangled Banner? Live music at its most grandiose. Time for me to bone up on some Muse discography.
JustEnoughDJs
The Dewaeles don’t change their playlist too much these days. This would be more of a problem if the Soulwax boys didn’t have such impeccable taste in dance music. 2ManyDJs’ closing Saturday night Sahara show delivered on all levels, from the ingenious album cover animations, to the P. Diddy rant about “20 minute versions”, to the brilliant ending drop of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”. They also proved something I’ve been wondering about for the past few years: will their remix of Phantom Pt. II stop sounding fresh and fun? Probably not.
James Murphy = The Woody Allen of the Music Industry
One of the shows I was looking forward to most turned out to be a huge flop. While the LCD Soundsystem band sounded good, frontman James Murphy left his A-game (as well as possibly his sobriety for the night) in the trailer. This was especially saddening to me, as I’m a big fan of his music (check out 45:33 if you haven’t yet; brilliant, cosmic disco type stuff) and consider him one of dance music most valuable emissaries. Unfortunately, much like Woody Allen is usually better off not getting too many lines in his movies, maybe Murph should be leaving the mic on its stand more often than not during LCD Soundsystem’s live shows. We’ll see if he’s learned his lesson when they take the stage at the Palladium on June 4th.
Final Thoughts
Bassnectar, Wolfgang Gartner and Pretty Lights were all phenomenal in the Sahara tent…..Vampire Weekend exceeded my expectations with an infectiously fun show, as did MGMT…..Deadmau5 was good (as was his nifty stage setup/LED mau5head), but he loses points in my book for hammering the same tracks every show. Stop fucking around with the trancy progressive house shit, Joel!…..Everybody and their mother has complained about how crowded it was this year, so I won’t get into that (though I do agree). Hopefully that won’t be an issue next year with Coachella’s recent 10 year contract extension with the polo grounds, which includes promises to enhance the venue in the coming years…..Non-ravers learned a valuable lesson this year that rave kids have known since their first massive: don’t rely on your cell phone for instant communication, and don’t expect to meet up with every damn friend you have at the festival! Remove yourself from your pack for a while and lone wolf that shit. Music is a personal, individual experience as much as it is shared…..Real life = still not as fun as Coachella life, shockingly. Hope to see you there next year!
© 2010, Rob. All rights reserved.
